The Psychodynamic Approach

Who is the key psychologist?

Freud

What three things did Freud suggest the mind was made up of?

Conscious

Preconscious

Unconscious

What is the conscious and what is it referred to as?

What we are aware of

The ‘tip of the iceberg’

What is the preconscious and what is it referred to as?

Thoughts we may become aware of through dreams

'Slips of the tongue’

What is the unconscious and what does it influence?

Vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts

Influences our behaviour

What did Freud call the structure of personality?

Tripartite structure of personality

What three parts did Freud divide personality into?

Id

Ego

Superego

What principle does the id operate on?

Pleasure principle

What principle does the ego operate on?

Reality principle

What principle does the superego operate on?

Morality principle

Describe the five psychosexual stages

Oral (0-1) - pleasure focus = mothers breast

Anal (1-3) - pleasure focus = anus - pleasure from withholding/eliminating faeces

Phallic (3-6) - pleasure focus = genital area

Latency - earlier conflicts are repressed

Genital (puberty) - sexual desires become conscious

When does the Oedipus complex occur?

At the phallic stage

What happens during the Oedipus Complex?

Little boys develop incestous feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred towards their father

Later, they’ll repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father

What is used to reduce anxiety?

Defence mechanisms used by the ego

Are defence mechanisms conscious or unconscious strategies?

Conscious

Describe the three defence mechanisms

Repression - forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind

Denial - refusing to acknowledge reality

Displacement - transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target

A03 Strength: Introduced psychotherapy

Psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically not physically

Psychoanalysis helps clients deal with everyday problems

Forerunner to many talking therapies e.g counselling

A03 Strength: Has explanatory power

Theory is controversial but has had huge influence on contemporary thought

Has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours

Focused on the influence of childhood on adult personality

Approach has had a positive influence on psychology and modern day thinking

A03 Limitation: Includes untestable concepts

Doesn’t meet the scientific criterion of falsification as it cannot be disproved

Many concepts e.g Oedipus complex occurs unconsciously so can’t be tested

Freud’s ideas lack scientific rigour so the theory is pseudoscience

A03 Limitation: Psychic determinism

Our behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts and theres no such thing as an accident

Leaves no room for free will beyond childhood

Freuds views were too extreme as most people have control over their behaviour